MORE than 900 cases of flytipping have been reported in Tendring in the space of a year according to the latest figures with concerns being raised over the financial squeeze dumped rubbish is putting on farmers.

DEFRA has revealed the number of flytipping incidents reported across the East of England between 2017 and 2018.

Tendring had 920 incidents, of which 42 were on agricultural land - the highest across the region.

While rubbish dumped on highways is the responsibility of Tendring Council, private land owners including farmers have to foot the bill to remove items dumped on their sites.

Viv Vivers, of Farmers and Mercantile Insurance Brokers, said the true scale of flytipping on East of England farmland is not reflected in the figures, as the DEFRA statistics excludes the majority of private-land incidents.

She said: "Flytipping is a blight on our countryside, but dumped waste is not only visually impactful and a nuisance – it can be a source of pollution and cause harm to humans, animals and the environment.

“This year’s DEFRA figures show that it is not only everyday household waste that gets dumped by flytippers – thousands of incidents involve asbestos, clinical waste and chemical and fuel waste.

“So, farmers are not only have to fork out for clean-up costs but also have to worry about the danger it poses to themselves, their workers, their animals and their land.

“These flytippers, both thoughtless individuals and unscrupulous ‘waste businesses’, don’t care that their irresponsible actions could lead to farmers being prosecuted under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

“Innocent farmers have the choice of footing the clean-up bill or facing significant fines for not dealing with someone else’s mess.”

Across the East of England there were 386 incidents of fly-tipping on agricultural land, out of 72,832 overall reports.

Viv added that farmers who fall prey to this crime are having to shoulder the burden, responsible for meeting the cost of clearing rubbish from their land themselves – at an average cost of £1,000 per incident.

She said: "Incomes in the farming sector are forecast to drop this year, due largely to the volatile weather, including last summer’s drought.

"Flytipping only tightens this financial squeeze.”

Flytipping can be reported to Tendring Council at tendringdc.gov.uk.